Varnishes, paints, stains and other fluids often come in metal cans. This well-known type of can is a simple cylinder of metal with an attached circular metal bottom at its closed end. At the open end of each can is an annular lip and an annular channel for receiving a can lid. The lid has an annular ridge that frictionally engages the annular channel to seal the can after the can is filled with fluid.
While using paint from a can, the painter frequently scrapes his or her brush against the annular lip at the top of the can to remove excess paint from the brush. In this way, paint accumulates in the annular channel of the can. Because a painter will often use less than an entire can of paint, to preserve the freshness of the paint (or varnish or stain), the painter would replace the lid on the can. However, the paint that has accumulated in the annular lip would run over the side of the can as the painter replaces the lid. This not only complicates cleanup, but prevents tight closure of the lid on the top of the can. Air seeps into the can and dries or ruins the paint. For these reasons, the painter must first clean the annular lip of excess paint using his or her brush, rags, etc. before replacing the lid on top of the can. This further complicates cleanup, as paint spills over the can sides, and the brush is saturated with paint from the annular lip.
Thus, a need exists for a means to keep the annular lip of a can free from accumulating paint, varnish, stain, or other fluids, to reduce cleanup efforts and maintain paint freshness, which is accomplished by this invention.